From 9am on Friday 27^th July patients staying at Barnsley Hospital will be able to watch coverage of ‘London 2012’ for free.

Barnsley Hospital will provide free access to all bedside TV appliances from 27th July to 12th August and then again from 29th August until the 9th September so patients can watch the excitement of this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics unfold.

The cost of the TV viewing package provided by Hospicom which is normally £3.50 per patient, per day, will be covered by Barnsley Hospital’s Charitable Funds. The hospital also provided free TV viewing earlier in the year so patients staying in hospital could watch coverage of the Queen’s Jubilee.

Stephen Wragg, Chairman of the hospital said: “We don’t want our patients who are staying in hospital this summer to miss out on such historical events. Our Trustees agreed that by providing free TV for these special occasions it would make a big difference to patient experience.

“Fortunately we have Charitable Funds that make it possible for the hospital to buy equipment, improve facilities and enhance the wellbeing of patients and staff, in circumstances such as this, where it wouldn’t be appropriate to use NHS money.”

The total cost of providing free TV for patients to watch all this summer’s events (including the Jubilee) is approximately £7, 000.